NYRR Sustainability

Introduction

At New York Road Runners, our vision is to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running, which also means doing its part to ensure future generations have access to clean air, green spaces, and a healthy world in which to run.    

NYRR Sustainability Pillars

Materiality Matrix
We aim to embed sustainability into everything we do at NYRR, from hosting events, to maintaining our facilities, to giving back to the community. We are committed to minimizing our impact across all areas of sustainability throughout all areas of the organization.

To determine NYRR’s sustainability focus areas, an exercise known as a materiality analysis. was conducted. This exercise evaluates sustainability areas based on their importance to the organization and their importance to stakeholders, which then prioritizes concepts that are most important to the organization both internally and externally.

The result of the materiality analysis is NYRR’s Materiality Matrix:

Sustainability Pillars

The results of this materiality analysis were then organized into key focus areas, forming NYRR’s Sustainability Pillars.

Climate Change & Energy
NYRR is committed to minimizing our contribution to global climate change by focusing on energy, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon offsets to reduce and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Communication
NYRR strives to be an environmental leader by inspiring and educating partners, stakeholders, and runners to commit to sustainability through transparent and effective communications and reporting.

Circularity
NYRR aims to minimize waste by prioritizing reuse, repair, and recycling.

Goals & Targets
We are excited to share we’ve recently set our Sustainability Goals and Targets!

We are thrilled to share our main goal: New York Road Runners commits to net zero emissions by 2040 and to be a leader in sports sustainability.

Our goals and targets are centered around supporting the diverse communities we serve, focused on emissions, circularity, water, and transparency.

Sustainability Spotlight

Highlights from the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon

• A Sustainability Survey was embedded in the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon App Powered by Tata Consultancy Services for the first time.
• Digital screens at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance highlighted sustainability initiatives form New Balance, Gatorade, and Volvo.
• Sustainability influencer and elite marathon runner Tina Muir rain the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon in a skirt made from trash.
• 86,400 pounds of discarded runner clothing at the Start was donated to All Of Us Clothing.
• 15 gallons of recycled blue pain from last year's marathon was used to paint the Course Blue Line and 25 gallons was upcycled paint from GDB.
• 17,500 pounds of food were collected at the start and finish and donated to City Harvest.
• 81 Green Team Volunteers worked at 9 waste diversion stations to help sort runners' waste at the Start and Finish.
• All Gatorade cups were made from 100% bamboo and composted at a farm in upstate New York.
• New Balance t-shirts were made from 100% recycled polyester.
• The Official Pace Car was the new fully electric Volvo EX30, designed to have the smallest CO₂ footprint of any Volvo to date [November 2023].

2023 TCS New York City Marathon Race-Week Sustainability Events

• Plogging: The sold-out NYRR pre-marathon plogging event took place on Saturday, November 4 at 11:30 a.m. The event was led by NYRR coaches and joined by sustainability influencer and runner, Tina Muir, and EcoAthletes.
• Sustainability Panel: NYRR hosted a sustainability panel on Thursday, November 2 on the Citizen's stage at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance called Sustainability in Running: Climate Impact. The Panelists were Tina Muir, former elite marathoner and climate activist, and Aly Crisculou, NYRR Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Conversation was moderated by Lew Blaustein, entrepreneur and founder of EcoAthletes.

2023 Climate Week NYC
In September of 2023, NYRR hosted our first ever live sustainability event in recognition of Climate Week NYC. Tina Muir, elite marathoner and climate activist, joined us for a discussion on running and sustainability as well as a launch and signing of her newest book, “Becoming a Sustainable Runner”. Supported by World Athletics, Sasha Gollish, Canadian marathoner and civil engineer, also joined the panel to speak on her experience embedding sustainability into her professional running career. The panel was moderated by author and social justice activist, Simran Jeet Singh.

Reuse and Recycling
After fulfilling donation needs and coordinating with New York City, the next priority is reuse. Items that can be saved for use at future races are being identified and set aside. Finally, items that cannot be donated or reused are being evaluated for recycling potential.

Climate Change & Energy

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Now more than ever, it is crucial for organizations to take decisive action to combat this global challenge. NYRR is committed to reducing our contribution to global climate change and is working to reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency across all areas of the organization.

Communication

So much of our work at NYRR extends far beyond the organization itself. Without our partners and our runners, we simply would not be able to do what we do. Those relationships offer a unique opportunity for NYRR to share our commitment to sustainability. We strive to serve as an environmental leader by encouraging all those we work with to uphold the same sustainable values.

Sports For Climate Action
New York Road Runners is a proud signatory of the UNFCCC’s Sports for Climate Action Framework. The Framework calls on sporting organizations to acknowledge the contribution of the sports sector to climate change and our responsibility to strive towards climate neutrality. As a signatory, NYRR will prioritize the initiative’s emphasis on undertaking systemic efforts for greater environmental responsibility, reducing overall climate impact, educating, and sharing knowledge, promoting sustainable and responsible consumption, and advocating for climate action.

Circularity

Circularity refers to systems that prioritize reuse, repair, and recycling to create a closed-loop process that minimizes, or even eliminates, waste.

By applying this more holistic way of thinking to everything that we do, we are working to make our operations more efficient. This means fewer resources being consumed and less waste being sent to the landfill.

Check out some of the ways that we are already working to promote circularity and reduce waste.

Waste Management and Recycling

Throughout the year at weekly and premier races, including the TCS New York City Marathon, New York Road Runners works with vendors and city agency partners to divert waste. We work with our hired waste removal provider, in conjunction with the New York City Department of Sanitation, moving from the start line to the finish line, collecting waste and sorting recyclables.

At many flagship races, finishers are awarded a finisher medal and provided with a Heatsheet. Leftover medals and Heatsheets are carefully sorted and either reused or recycled if they cannot be reused.

Food Collection and Donation

At all NYRR races, leftover pre-race, course, and post-finish food and beverage items are collected and donated to City Harvest, New York City’s first and largest food rescue organization, where they help feed more than 1.2 million food-insecure New Yorkers.

Clothing Collection and Donation

Before runners take off at the start of the United Airlines NYC Half, RBC Brooklyn Half, and TCS New York City Marathon, many discard their warm-up gear. Since 2012, NYRR has collected and donated the discarded clothing to divert the textiles from local landfills. The total amount collected over the multiyear initiative exceeds 1 million pounds.

NYRR collaborates with several local organizations to donate extra race premiums – including T-shirts and hats – that provide clothing to young athletes in underserved communities. More information is available on our Community Donations page.

2024 United Airlines NYC Half Quick Facts

• 42 attendees at the biggest NYRR_hosted plog yet
• 27,827 finisher medals made in the U.S.A. from 100% recycled steel and recycled PET ribbons for the first time ever
• 18,980 pounds of clothing donated
• 100 pounds of food donated

Community

As committed as NYRR is to providing access to the sport of running, we are equally committed to bettering the communities that play host to our races, community events, and youth programs throughout the year. Through comprehensive sustainability initiatives, our hope is to work with our partners and vendors to leave city streets, parks, schools, and community centers better than the way we found them.

NYRR’s Commitment to Plogging
What on earth Is plogging? The fitness sensation from Sweden is the environmentally conscious runner’s activity of choice. A combination of the word “jogging” and “plocka upp,” the Sweden phrase for picking up, plogging is picking up litter while you are out for a run or walk.

Not just a problem in urban areas, litter is an issue globally in our communities, waterways, and natural spaces. Its damaging effects on our health and the health of wildlife are immense, but with plogging you can take direct action against it! It may be a cliché, but one person really can make a difference. And just imagine how much you can do if you get your whole running crew involved!

Plogging is also a great way to introduce new body movements into your run such as bending, squatting, stretching, and even lunging while you pick up trash. When you plog, you aren’t running for time, you are running to help heal the earth and improve your own strength.

In 2022, NYRR committed to hosting public plogging events prior to all 3 of our marquee races: the United Airlines NYC Half, the RBC Brooklyn Half, and the TCS New York City Marathon. Don’t forget to look out for these interactive opportunities on our events calendar and sign up through the links provided.

We also encourage runners and walkers to bring plogging back to their own neighborhoods in New York City and around the world!

NYRR’s Commitment to Service
Each year, NYRR hosts a Day of Service, where all staff members are encouraged to participate in beautifying, cleaning, and supporting a New York City park where NYRR also hosts Open Runs. In August of 2023, more than 80 NYRR staff members joined forces in Inwood Hill Park to pain 665 feet of railing, 1 roller hockey rink, 12 light poles, and spread 5 yards of mulch.